once upon a time there was a queen. beautiful and caring but without a suitor.distraught, she wished for a child with lips as red as blood, hair as black as ebony and skin as white as snow.she got her wish, for one day, almost magically, a girl with all the right features was presented on the steps of her castle.delighted, she kept the infant and named her snow white.—just like any normal girl, snow white grew. playing in the courtyard with the other children of the small island kingdom which she lived on, laughing and giggling as all her friends played hide and seek, the castle's guards always keeping an eye out for the toddler princess.

the more she grew, the sweeter she got. everyone who met her loved her, snow was the blossoming flower of the kingdom.but one day her mother, the queen, fell ill.the citizens had to sit and watch as a disease no one had ever seen before slowly sucked the life out of their precious queen.one day, on a whim, the castle's greatest guards left the small island with the ill queen on their greatest ship sailing off to a different land for diagnosis and medicine.

watching from the highest point in the large confines of the castle, snow cried as her mom drifted away from her life.( not even a few hours after they left, the queen died. in mourning, ship returned to the kingdom to give their late queen a proper burial. ) —

years later, the same kingdom awakes on the annual anniversary of the good queens death and quietly mourns.while walking through the village, a sad smile decorating her features as she sees the citizens walk around in a daily routine, some tipping their hats to her, snow is stopped by someone standing in the alleyway. she can't tell who it is for a dark robe cover up their body and most of their face.

"i understand how...troublesome this day might be to you, queen," the robed person begins, voice hoarse (and snow frowns; she's never gotten used to anyone calling her the queen. she isn't the queen. she wasn't. she never should've been, at least, not this early.)

"but as a small gift to cheer you up, i wish to give you this"snow walks closer and the shady person pulls from behind their back an apple. plump and gleaming and a bright, bright red.while snow has to admit apples haven't been her favorite fruit, she doesn't want to seem rude, so she smiles and takes the apple from the persons hand and thanks them.

"thank you, a lot. with this i will make a nice pie, for my guards," snow begins, but is quickly cut off."no! no, madam. see, i picked this apple just for you. taken from the greatest, biggest tree_ i could find around here, it'd be a shame if this apple graced the lips of someone unworthy."

at first the young adult frowns, then she straightens herself out and smiles again."right. thank you. but i'm sorry, i'm not too fond of apples."she begins to hand the apple back to the person, but is, once again, stopped."not too fond of apples? who in their right mind would ever be not too fond of apples'?" the person pushed the apple back to her."you don't have to eat the whole thing, just a small bite, to show that all of my hard work didn't go to waste. after all, there aren't that many good trees to grow fruits on here."

snow's smile drops, but eventually she gives in.sighing, she takes a small bite, the crunch of the fruit sounding through the alleyway she was in.in all, the apple isn't bad. sweeter than she imagined, if snow was to be honest, but not bad.she swallows and the robed person seems to smile, maybe.

"was it good?" they ask and snow nods."it was very nice, but im afraid now i must go. the guards must be worried sick."the person nods as the young queen drops the apple unceremoniously on the ground and begins a slow jog away from the alley and towards the castle. only when she's completely gone from site does the person pick up the bitten into apple and laugh.they take the robe off and under is a wicked witch.—

a few nights, on the eve of the young princess' nineteenth birthday, snow wakes up in the middle of the night screaming. immediately, guards rush to her room, but when they get there the princess is unmoving. curled up in her bed with covers thrown haphazardly down the bed. nightmare, they simultaneously think, but to be sure one guard goes to the girls bed and slowly shakes her. snow doesn't stir.

"m'lady," the guard begging, shaking her a little more. she still doesn't respond.another guard walks up next to him and lays his head on the lady's chest. he lifts back up.

"she's still breathing. slowly, though.""snow," another guard says, from the door.

the beautiful girl keeps her eyes closed, almost as if she's dead to the world.

immediately the two guards next to snow think. "go get the doctor," one of them says to the group near the door."what are you still standing there for? go, now!

the guards scramble out the door and down he steps.

the two still inside the room pace back and forth around the room waiting.

and as the night continued, in her own little world, snow white felt herself slowly falling into darkness, waiting for someone to catch her and pull her back into the light.